For the third year, Gloucester High is provisionally accredited/needs improvement.

The school is below the state benchmark for full accreditation only in math. The benchmark is 70 percent passing; the school's math pass rate was 59 percent.

Victory Academy, a charter alternative school for at-risk Gloucester eighth- and ninth-graders, still has the lowest ranking, accredited with warning. Last year the school was warned in two subjects, English and math. Now it's warned just in math.

Victory's passing rate for English more than doubled from 2001 to 2002, from 25 percent to 56 percent. The math passing rate almost doubled, from 20 percent to 38 percent.

At Gloucester High, "We've improved in all four areas each year that they've measured them," said Principal Jean King.

Several programs are in place to boost success in math and the other core SOL subjects, English, history and science.

For instance, some students take two periods, or blocks, of Algebra I every other day, rather than one block. Students are using more hands-on techniques in math, such as using tiles to work equations.

Ninth-graders can attend "recovery school" to help them catch up. And in January, a refresher class will be offered to students preparing to retake an SOL test.

The high school also will benefit from the success of the lower grades, said King. All elementary and middle schools in Gloucester are accredited now. As those students move up through the grades, "They'll come to us with better prerequisite skills to do high-school level work," King said.

Victory Academy, which serves students who are performing below their peers, uses the same curriculum and is held to the same SOL standards as the high school.

"I would like for them to meet the same standards ... because ultimately they'll have to go back to the high school and function like everyone else," said Donna Owen, assistant superintendent for Gloucester schools.

Victory Academy Coordinator Shirley Cooper agrees with that, but says other standards -- such as attendance and classroom grades -- should count toward accrediting alternative schools. She serves on a state committee developing such a proposal.

At-risk students attend Victory for two years, then go to Gloucester High School in the tenth grade. Since Victory's inception five years ago, about half of its students have gone on to graduate from Gloucester High, said Cooper. Another third have earned a General Educational Development diploma; the rest dropped out or moved.

Cooper said the key is smaller classes and extra help. The school obtained a grant last year to tutor students in math and English for two hours a day, four days a week, for two months. Extra help also was offered after lunch some days.

"Pulling these kids out of the larger high school and zeroing in on their weaknesses has really made a difference," said Cooper.

Owen, the assistant superintendent, said she and the director of testing have talked to administrators at both schools about ways to bring their math passing rates up.

Owen said she is delighted that all other Gloucester County schools reached full accreditation. She credited the success to teachers working hard, sticking to the curriculum and using their time wisely.

Each teacher fills out a timeline at the beginning of the year based on SOL information provided by the state. For example, the state might say that on the earth science SOL test, 50 percent of the questions would be about geology. So a teacher likely would want to schedule about 50 percent of instructional time on geology, said Owen.

Each teacher compares the timeline to SOL results and makes adjustments for the next year.

Owen and teams of teachers developed curriculum plans over the past several summers, then adjusted them as the state changed the standards.

In Middlesex, both the high school and middle school were provisionally accredited last year; they're fully accredited now.

Both elementary schools were accredited for the second year in a row. Both are now closed, succeeded by the new Middlesex Elementary School, which opened this fall.

"I think the kids took the test seriously. The teachers did a good job of making sure the kids knew it was important," said Middlesex Superintendent Michael Myers. He also praised the parents for working "real hard."

Mathews Superintendent Harry Ward said he found out first that all three county schools were accredited by using a secret password given to superintendents. He called all three principals into his office. He said he kept a straight face while each principal went online to check the results.